


Make or Break

by Quite_The_Weeb



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Actually sort of calm sometimes, Angst, Anorexia, Anxiety, At least for a fic with tags like these, Bullying, But they aren't nasty, Child Neglect, Depression, Eating Disorders, Emotional Abuse, Existential Angst, Existential Crisis, F/F, F/M, Heavy Angst, Highschool AU, Human K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Light Angst, Lonliness, M/M, MAY I REPEAT THAT THEY ARE NOT GROSS, Orange AU, Physical Abuse, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Severe Bullying, Slice of Life, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, These Kids are Sad, Verbal Abuse, anger issues, controlling parents, happy ending i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:40:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20513177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quite_The_Weeb/pseuds/Quite_The_Weeb
Summary: It was a typical school morning for Saihara Shuichi when he receives a strange letter from his future self. The letter has all the events that lead up to him joining Danganronpa, his dream.However, the letter instructs him to not make these mistakes and to avoid joining the legendary Killing Games. Despite not wanting to, Saihara agrees to follow the letter, but promising himself to still join said game. Along the way, Saihara will make friends, maybe even saving their lives from the games, whether he realizes it or not.





	1. Personalities, Which is Important, so...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just the character personalities, I don't really have anything else to say.

Akamatsu Kaede

-She is very passive and never the first to introduce herself unless forced to. She shows strong disinterest towards people, particularly anybody in the field of sports for some odd reason. She is often seen with earbuds in as if she's attempting to block out the world. However, if you're nice to her, she brings out a very warm side of her. However, she gets angered with anybody, she goes back to being cold and distant just like that.

Amami Rantaro

-He appears very cool and has an almost calming presence. In fact, if you speak to him, it seems that way, too. However, he strongly lacks in intuition, which can make him almost naive when confronted with anything outside of what he's used too, which apparently isn't much. Despite this, he's very book smart and learns quickly. While he has the ability to befriend people quite easily, he doesn't often talk about himself.

Chabashira Tenko

-At first glance, she is very energetic and boisterous, and when you talk to her, that confirms it. Her mood can change just like that from happy to angry. Despite what her attitude suggests, she lacks determination and <strike></strike>will give up on things easily unless she really wants it. Due to growing up in an all girls environment, she is very curious about males and holds them in high regards. Although she gets disappointed when they don't meet her expectations.

Gokuhara Gonta

-This is the type of guy who will say "sorry" when he walks because he isn't certain, but he may be stepping on a bug. Contrary to what you may think, however, he wants to become a true rebel. He's never actually broken any rules, actually following them better than most students. Despite trying to act like a rebel, he is a very kind boy who will do his best when push comes to shove.

Harukawa Maki

-The thing with her is that she becomes more stiff the more emotional she becomes. She is a very sensitive girl, but doesn't seem to know how to properly express it, which can be quite comedic at times. Although she doesn't look like it, she almost constantly acts flustered and jumpy. She is also very helpful and shockingly good at reading the air and other people's emotions, just not her own for whatever reason...

Hoshi Ryoma

-Presumably a pretty chill guy, but once you hang out with him, he can be pretty wild. He makes quite reckless decisions, all for the sake of living life to the fullest. He'll constantly talk about how he still has a ways to go before he's done everything he can to spice up his life. While he is still very calm in demeanor and personality, he is almost always the one telling people his own catchphrase to encourage them to go out and do stuff!

Idabashi Keebo

-While quite socially acceptable, he/they (it'll alternate throughout the story) will physically shrink under any spotlight. He hates being the center of attention, but loves nothing more than validation and affection, something he doesn't say, though. He ranges from being startlingly quiet to moderately loud depending on how many people there are, or his current mood. He tends to talk about himself a lot.

Iruma Miu

-She is an odd one. She is very perverted, just as obnoxious as her in game counterpart. However, if you insult her, she gets seemingly angry and yells, acting a lot louder than before, although she never actually deflects anything. If you say she's bad at something, she'll prove you wrong, but oddly enough, as she's doing it, she acts almost timid and docile. This only shows up when she's deep in thought from the looks of things.

Momota Kaito

-He'd probably punch you if you looked at him the wrong way. While he's a very violent guy, he normally doesn't do too much damage, normally sticking with threats. He scares people away quite easily, but if you become buddy buddy with him, he'll try not to hurt you, or will at least play nice. He doesn't really show much emotion aside from anger and the occasional smile, even getting angry if you ask about him or his feelings.

Ouma Kokichi

-He is so brutally honest to everyone around him. He can't lie to save his life, but he is good at dramatizing things or staying ambiguous. He makes a lot of jokes or speaks sarcastically, perhaps to cover up for his lacking in lies? He gets picked on a lot and if anybody gets concerned, he just insults the bullies. Despite being bad at lying, he is very good at feigning emotions, which can give off a similar impression.

Saihara Shuichi

-He is pretty much the walking definition of awkward. Although he has an underwhelming appearance, he sticks out in and crowd. He has great intuition, but lacks in social skills. He can be very anxious or paranoid, which can send others into a panic due to his habit of thinking out loud sometimes. He typically doesn't even try to speak to people and is a bit too into his own interests to bother sometimes. 

Shinguuji Korekiyo

-He's perfectly fine with speaking with people when it comes down to it, he just seems to get oddly uncomfortable when they start speaking too much about themselves. Ice breaker activities anger him greatly and he is constantly seen muttering to himself about unintelligible nonsense. He carries around a random notepad and will subconsciously start writing notes, only to slam it shut moments later and curse.

Shirogane Tsumugi

-She's that one kid who is in literally every club. Almost every time you see her, she has book about god knows what on her. However, she'll then try to do said thing and completely fail. While she still spams out her array of plain puns, she also will bring up how she believes there is something out there that is unique about her and how she just has to find it. An easy way to anger her is by criticizing her skills.

Tojo Kirumi

-She is very relaxed in demeanor, as well as very studious. However, if you ask her to do you a favor, she will ignore you and act like a petty ten year old trying to make a statement. She is overly formal and if you say her name, she has a strange habit of perking upright like a board. Her grades are only a bit above average and all her teachers say it's because she just doesn't apply herself enough.

Yonaga Angie

-She has the most extreme god complex you'll ever see. She literally believes that she is a god, but if you were to ask, she'd say that she's an atheist and "I am all I need!" When faced with a tough task, she will either give up before trying or work herself to the bone for no good reason. If she doesn't get it right the fist time, she says it's impossible. She's almost overwhelmingly positive, however.

Yumeno Himiko

-She is normally very tired and taking naps. She is a very no nonsense person when it comes to logic, believing in science over all else. She can sometimes be unreasonable in that regard and anger people. This doesn't stop her from stretching the truth, claiming to be a hidden Noble Prize winner. She never directly calls anything a pain and rather than rejecting something, she'll take it and then procrastinate greatly.


	2. Dear Saihara Shuichi

It was an early Thursday morning, around six thirty at the very latest. Cars droned down streets as the early risers made their way to their jobs, perhaps to get a jump on the day. It was peaceful, almost painfully so and could only be considered tolerable in this world. The world fueled by happiness and lack of conflict. Although, the latter currently couldn't be said for a certain young man who lay idly in bed.

Saihara Shuichi was always a light sleeper. Maybe it was because his parents never got him used to the sound of their voices waking him up. Then again, he wasn't even used to the sound of their voices before they packed up in left on a Saturday evening nearly twelve years back. So as the sun streamed through the broken blinds of his window, Shuichi was up, casting a glare at the sun, which returned it, much to Shuichi's disdain. He rubbed his eyes absentmindedly before turning off his lousy alarm clock, well aware that he had woken up too early for it to be anything more than an inconvenience later when the designated time did come.

Shuichi's room was tidy, almost unsettlingly so, especially with the darker color scheme than what most would desire. It was almost monochrome, like what you see in detective movies, with the exception of the blue walls and occasional red, grey and wooden accenting. His books were lined neatly on sleek oak shelves, their covers doing the absolute minimum in brightening up the melancholic coloring around it. Next to it was a desk, also oak, which was accompanied by an uncomfortable looking dining chair and a tiny potted plant that seemed to be wilting a bit by the looks of the edges. On the walls hung a few posters, some adorned a familiar two-toned bear the world had grown to love.

At last, when he decided to get up for school, Shuichi rolled out from under his covers, swaying a bit when a head rush decided to merge nastily with his grogginess. He proceeded to exit his room and walk down the halls, not bothering to turn on the lights. The sun gave enough light for Shuichi to successfully navigate the bathroom. He quickly washed his hands before splashing his face with a supposedly refreshing handful of water, which did nothing but get parts of his hair unnecessarily wet and sting his left eye with a bit of excess soap he hadn't completely soaked off. Cursing a bit, Shuichi hastily dried his face, facing a mirror to study his eye, along with his complexion.

Shuichi was a young man, fifteen years of age and exactly five feet and seven inches (171 cm.) He could tell you that off the top of his head because his parents told him when he was younger that it was polite to know how to answer people's questions properly and he never outgrew the habit of checking. His face was rather feminine in shape, especially his eyes, which were flatteringly slim and a pleasant dull golden green, topped off with long eyelashes, especially at the corners. His deep blue hair gently framed his face aside from a single bit that refused to ever stay down unless forced that way. Shuichi himself was quite pale, but had enough color in his cheeks to look healthy.

"Son of a.." Shuichi grumbled, only to begin coughing from using his voice so suddenly after a night of rest.

Cursing once again, Shuichi finished up in the bathroom before stumbling down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was the typical appearance that Shuichi had seen a thousand times before, that being empty. Ever since his parents left, Shuichi had lived with his uncle in the same two story house he remembered only visiting during the holidays. His uncle was certainly better at parenting than Shuichi's mom and dad, there was much to be desired. He would at least talk to Shuichi normally, but never went out of his way to do so. If Shuichi had to guess, he would say with certainty that his uncle was on his way to work, leaving the mail from yesterday on the counter. Shuichi appreciated this, even if only a bit. He always loved flipping through the newspaper when he woke up, even if it was from the day before.

Silence hummed through the air melodiously as Shuichi poured an almost empty box of cereal into a bowl. Even if he's only been up and about for ten minutes or so, the day had already been pretty bad for Shuichi and he didn't feel like cooking. However, when he swung open the fridge to grab some milk, he found none. And so, that's how Shuichi wound up eating dry cereal for breakfast as he casually flipped through a day old new's paper. Then, Shuichi's eyes trailed onto a strange envelope that lay propped up against the wall. Perhaps it was the pure dullness of the morning or the appealing color, but Shuichi found himself walking toward the envolope. He held it delicately like a lost duckling before sucking in a breath and flipping it over.

"My... name?" Shuichi breathed, rereading the address in disbelief.

Admittedly, Shuichi wasn't the most social person. Sure, he's acquaintances with the weird new girl at his school (at least he thinks so?) but as far as close friends go, Shuichi definitely couldn't give a name. So the fact that someone had sent him a letter was understandably shocking to Shuichi. A moment or two later after Shuichi regained his bearings, he gently tore open the letter, attempting to avoid ripping the envelope. Inside, he found something that was more than just letter as it dropped onto the granite kitchen counter.

Shuichi found his future.

He stared a moment at the neatly folded, yet extremely bulky set of papers that lay before him. The paper facing up at him was blank, taunting Shuichi, telling him to flip the pile over. Complying to the nonexistent request, Shuichi turned over the pile, opting to take a look at the letter that now took the place of the last. He had seen and heard letters when a character received them on television and something he always noticed was that they all held some sort of large significance to the character. Well, this letter certainly held some sort of significance, but the contents were so unexpected, Shuichi nearly dropped the sheet he was holding.

_Dear Saihara Shuichi,_

_I wasn't exactly sure whether to start this by addressing to you as Shuichi or from the first person, but I figured that if you read that, you might toss it in the garbage. Probably not, though. You'd probably be too intrigued by the fact you just received your first ever letter. So, let me clear this up: I am you from the future._

_ “_Well that’s enough of that.” At least that’s what an adult reading a scam email would’ve said. No thanks, Nigerian Prince. I have to pay rent. However, in this moment, Shuichi was neither an adult or reading a scam email. He wasn’t really sure how to feel, but the letter had intrigued him quite effectively, so he read on.

_ Okay, before you think of this as a scam or something, I want to assure you that it isn't. So, to confirm my validity, I'm going to say this. Today, you woke up when you usually do, right before your alarm and a lot of unlucky things happen. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe they happen in this order. You get a head rush when you wake up and nearly fall, you then get soap in your eyes, have a cough attack and are probably still eating dry cereal. If you still doubt me, then tell me this. If I were some random person, how would I predict one day into the future? Uncle Kazuo always brings in the post a day late, right?_

Shuichi’s heartbeat was screaming in his ears. The letter was real. This letter was fucking real, which means the Saihara fucking Shuichi from who knows how far in the future has somehow gotten the grand old idea to pop in. How else would he had known what would happen a day in advance? 

_ Hopefully by now you know that this is real, so let me tell you why I'm here because I'm honestly still confused about how I'm here as well. Now, I want you to know that when I say "future," I mean about two years. With that out of the way, I'll cut right to the chase. I'm here to help you. I can't really say what or else you might toss this. I have instructions on the next page for you, but don't look at it_ _ until you get to class. Thank you._

Shuichi’s hands shook, almost dropping the letter. He stared anxiously around the room, suddenly feeling as if he was being watched by a vicious killer fresh from Danganronpa. Trying to shake off the feeling, Shuichi shoved the pages back into the envelope, then putting said envelope into his school bag. When he failed to remove the perpetual feeling of unease from his head, Shuichi decided he’d rather head to school early. That way he could read more of this strange letter.

The front door to his uncle’s house creaked terribly when Shuichi opened it. He sauntered to the cracked and worn sidewalk, barely paying attention to the streets. Traffic was calm at this hour and Shuichi already knew the path to the station like the back of his hand. No matter how you looked at it, Shuichi had grown far too used to waking up too early. Aside from that, the journey from his house to school was uneventful after the feeling of dread finally faded from Shuichi’s brain, drowned out by the music blaring from his earbuds.

The hallways were nearly empty due to the time. Only someone strange would come to school of all places so early. Of course, Shuichi always thought he was quite normal, or at least tried to be. Although it was sort of hard to when he was always convinced people were staring daggers into his back and that every hushed voice in the halls spoke rotten words towards him. Shuichi hated how self centered he sounded when he dove too deep into the topic.

Given that he was a first year, Shuichi didn’t have to walk that far to reach his class. As he thought, he was the first one there, empty seats mocking him for allowing his own paranoia to drag him all the way to school. Sighing in defeat, Shuichi took his seat way in the back corner of the room, setting down his bag on the back of the chair. Taking a good scan of the room, Shuichi briskly opened his bag, grabbing the envelope once more to read.

_Hello again,_

_ Hopefully you kept your word and went to school without peeking. Either way, I have instructions for you now as I mentioned above. Now, some strange things are about to happen, but I want you to listen. There's a girl in your class. The one who sits next to you. If I remember correctly, you and her are acquaintances, right? Even if you're not, I need you to do this for me: _

_ Task: Talk to the new girl. Start!_

Shuichi quirked a brow at this, confused. He looked at the seat next to him, only to find it vacant. She probably wasn't here yet. He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect given that nobody else was there to begin with. Why did his future self want Shuichi to speak with this girl anyway? Was she a future lover, perhaps? As Shuichi crammed the thought out of his head, the door slid open and in came a girl.

She was shorter than Shuichi, but only by around three inches (9 cm) if he had to guess (he’s become sort of an expert at guessing measurements over the years.) Her fiery red eyes held an intense stare, brows furrowed and lids slanted. However, the look seemed more focused than it did malicious, so Shuichi could just barely manage to not flinch. Her deep brown hair was extremely long, bangs grazing her eyelashes whereas the rest extended way down to her ankles. Her mouth was in a thin line, lips pursed into something that looked like a frown, but felt like a smile. Maybe the other way around, Shuichi wasn’t sure.

Wordlessly, the girl took the seat next to Shuichi’s, whipping out a book with a bookmark placed inside, although it looked a bit more like a small cheat sheet with large amount of handwriting scribbled on it. However, when she began to read from her book, Shuichi couldn’t help but notice that she never turned any pages and would occasionally cast a look towards him, which made him feel extremely anxious. In an attempt to distract himself from her glaring, Shuichi returned his attention to the letter in his hands.

_ Now, I want you to be careful around her. _ _It's not that she's a bad person. She's better than most, actually. Just please..._

_ Task Revision!: _

_ Talk to Harukawa Maki. Start!_

Shuichi let out a barely audible sigh, leaning back in his chair a bit. Lucky for him, Maki must have some sort of superhuman hearing because her head snapped towards him at the sound, not even bothering to be subtle. Shuichi then decided to return the stare, looking Maki in the eyes. Their eyes locked for about a minute, Maki’s red ones wide with some sort of curiosity. Eventually, Shuichi couldn’t handle the eye contact for any longer, so he switched his glance to the window, the feeling of Maki’s eyes still burning into the back of his head. Nobody else had entered the classroom yet, so there’d be no witnesses if Maki were to kill him right then and there.

Soon enough, Shuichi remembered the letter instructed him to talk to this girl. If the letter was really him from the future, then it’d probably be best to listen to them. Besides, the letter also said that Maki was a good person, right? And so, willing some sort of confidence into his body, Shuichi turned back to Maki, whose gaze was still locked in his direction. Gulping in what he prayed wouldn’t be his last breath, Shuichi opened his mouth to speak. To his surprise however, Maki seemed to beat him to it.

“What are you reading?” Maki’s voice was monotone, but rang through the air like a pleasant melody.

Only one sentence in and Shuichi was already panicking. Despite the close proximity of their desks, it appears that Maki apparently couldn’t read the letter from her desk. Shuichi took note of that, considering himself lucky. The hard part was figuring out what to say next. He couldn’t just say “oh, nothing much, Harukawa-San. I just got this funky letter from the future and it wanted me to talk to you!” 

“Uh, I—I’m just readi—reviewing my notes for—for a class,” Shuichi sputtered, mentally facepalming at his stupidity.

“Hm, alright,” Maki huffed before turning back to her book, her face giving off the impression that she had more she wanted to say.

“W—wait!” Shuichi exclaimed, keeping the note fresh in his mind. “What... what about you? What are you reading?”

And so, Saihara Shuichi began task one.


End file.
